Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Boom!
A 100-feet-wide waterfall cascaded forcefully from the 1,000-feet-tall cliff, smashing out a gigantic pool at the bottom. The waters in the pool churned as thunderous booms rang out.
Beside the pool was a small unit currently roasting Magical Beast meat at a campfire. The golden-yellow roast was showing signs of charring, yet it was as if the few people in the unit hadn’t realized at all.
Their eyes were fixed on a golden fruit a short distance away from them. There was surprise, agitation, curiosity, perplexity, wariness... and greed in them!
“Did you guys hear that?”
“Yeah!”
“I heard it!”
“Is the master of that voice just now the Tree of Life that the Giant Crocodile mentioned?”
“There shouldn’t be any mistake about it. Didn’t it mention that the tree is the creator and guardian of this continent? So it’s likely no doubt the Tree of Life!”
“In other words, that golden fruit in front of us now is the Tree of Life fruit that the Giant Crocodile mentioned?”
“A miraculous fruit that can let low-grade Magical Beasts become a Saint Domain Magical Beast in a short amount of time?”
“Most likely!”
“Probably!”
“I think there’s no mistake about that!”
“Magical Beasts may be able to eat it, but can we eat them, too?”
The members of the unit sank into silence at once. All of their eyes were flashing, their thoughts unknown.
“My brothers, that fruit is of unknown origins. We mustn’t allow it to bewitch and deceive us. In the event that it’s poison itself or some kind of highly poisonous items, wouldn’t we be in for it?”
A short and shrewd-looking man said gravely, “Before we ascertain the authenticity of that fruit, we should distance ourselves from it as much as possible, lest we invite great calamity.”
“That makes sense.”
“I don’t dare to eat something of unknown origins like that.”
“Everything on this continent feels strange, and that fruit’s sudden appearance is even more so. We’d better not touch it.”
“Let’s just keep it for now.”
“We’ll talk about it again when we’re sure of its origins.”
The members quickly reached an agreement. Then, all of them turned around and walked over to the campfire, paying no heed to the golden fruit anymore.
Whoosh!
Just as the few of them reached the campfire and sat down, ready to eat, the form of the short man who had spoken earlier suddenly flashed and darted swiftly over to the golden fruit.
“My brothers, this fruit is of unknown origins, and we don’t know whether it’s poison or a fruit. I’ll sacrifice myself and try it out!”
As the short man spoke, he also grabbed the golden fruit and stuffed it into his mouth. At that moment, a large hand appeared out of nowhere and closed around his throat, pulling him up from the ground.
The short man snapped furiously. “What are you doing, Ned?”
“Myers, are you thinking of monopolizing the fruit?”
The muscular man named Ned snorted and gouged the fruit out of the short man’s mouth. Then, he wiped it casually on his clothes and said, “Even if we must test it, I should be the one to do it. You’re no way even near in line for it.”
Then, he also raised the fruit and sent it toward his mouth.
Whiz, whiz!
Several swords flashed as they cleaved toward Ned, almost all at the same time.
“Damn!”
Having seen it coming, Ned hastily dodged the swords cleaving toward him and snapped furiously. “What are all of you doing, Frank?!”
“Put down the fruit, Ned!”
The other members said with cold looks on their faces, “All of us discovered that fruit. How it should be handled should be discussed and decided by all of us. No-one is allowed to monopolize it!”
“Put down the fruit, Ned. Don’t let it affect our relationship!”
“We’ve known each other for so many years, Ned. Is such a fruit of unknown origins worth breaking our friendship over?”
“Exactly...”
“You’re right. I was wrong!”
Ned, who seemed convinced, said, “I’m sorry, my brothers. My anger at Myers just now has made me muddleheaded, so I acted rather rash. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”
As he spoke, he bent over to place the fruit on the ground. However, in the instant he made contact with the ground, he grabbed a handful of sand and tossed it toward his companions.
Then, with a leap, he dived into the bushes at the side and disappeared from sight. “Making me hand over the fruit? Dream on! My hope for stepping into Saint Domain territory lies in this!”
“You bastard!”
“Ned, you bastard!”
“Go after him! Hurry!”
...
Similar situations constantly played out in various corners of the continent. In fact, there was no lack of situations even more bitter and desperate than that.
The target that the contestants were vying for had changed. It was no longer limited to just spatial rings and magic cores; what was more important were the golden fruits.
The golden fruits were as though Tripitaka’s1 flesh. They held an endless allure that drove all the contestants crazy.
Brothers killed each other, friends fell out, and lovers went at each other’s throats.
All of these were directly displayed on the magic screen, causing all the spectators who saw what was happening to be dumbfounded.
“What exactly is going on?”
“Have all of them gone mad?”
“Why are they backstabbing their own companions?”
“Just what exactly are those golden fruits?”
The audience speculated wildly among themselves.
The teachers-in-charge and Saint Domain experts all looked toward the emperor. He was the one that understood the Lost Continent the best. Hence, he should also understand the golden fruits the best!
Little did they expect that Frederick the 32nd was actually also frowning and sporting a perplexed look on his countenance.
“I’ve sent men to investigate the Lost Continent before, but I’ve never expected it to have something like those golden fruits.” Frederick the 32nd sighed and said, “Thus, I was also completely unaware of those golden fruits’ existence.”
“This...”
“Even His Majesty is unaware of it?”
The teachers-in-charge looked at one another.
“Your Majesty, the contestants have gone rather out of control. They aren’t just vying for magic cores now, but more so the golden fruits. I fear we can’t let this go on!”
President Luke said, “Even though it’s unclear what those golden fruits are, the lethal attraction they pose to the contestants is enough to show that they are no ordinary objects. Allowing the contestants to vie for them at will will likely lead to trouble!”
“President Luke is right!”
The Royal Knights Academy president also spoke up. “Moreover, the fruits’ appearance was too out of the blue. Instead of showing up earlier or later, they had to pick this exact moment to show up instead. It’s too fishy!”
“What exactly those fruits are, where they came from, what they’re used for, why they’ve appeared, and the purpose for their appearance... We don’t know any of these.”
Another academy president chimed in and said, “This matter is too fishy. We must treat this with the utmost care, lest it leads to unnecessary trouble and a great disaster.”
“My beloved subjects, all of you are right.” Frederick the 32nd nodded slightly and ordered, “Inform the Royal Knight Order to keep a close watch on everything happening in the Lost Continent. Once any abnormalities are discovered, be sure to guarantee the contestants’ safety!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Just what are those golden fruits?”
There was a deep, dark look in Frederick the 32nd’s eyes. “To think they’ve actually caused a group of young fellows as strong as ninth-grade pinnacle-level and bordering on Saint Domain realm to have no hesitation in tearing at one another’s throats and family to harm one another?”
...
“Madness! They’ve all gone mad!”
Perched on Sacas’ shoulder, Meng Lei felt a rather big headache coming on as he overlooked everything happening on the continent.
The entire continent had totally gone off the rails.
No!
To be more accurate, the contestants had totally gone off the rails. The golden fruits were just like Tripitaka flesh that was causing them to see red as they vied for them.
The key was that Meng Lei had even discovered an astonishing matter—there were far more than just nine golden fruits!
There were already five in his possession ,and the number of fruits that the other contestants were fighting one another for was far more than just four. How could there possibly be just nine of them in total?
“This is feeling more and more like a scheme!” Ol’ Amos said gravely, “Tossing out so many fruits all of a sudden and causing all the contestants to go off the rails... This is obviously something planned in advance.”
“Who cares? I’m leaving soon anyway.” Meng Lei shook his head and said, “When I get back to the teleportation magic circle, I’ll watch what happens. If there’s any danger, I’ll escape immediately.”
“A gentleman doesn’t put himself in harm’s way.” Ol’ Amos chuckled as he said, “A future exists only for those who are alive. You’re right to do that.”
Boom, boom, boom!
At that moment, booming sounds of intense battle suddenly came from the forest below them. The grounds shook, and the mountains swayed as trees were broken in halves.
Meng Lei looked over to see two groups of people fighting it out again. One side had seven to eight people, while there was only one person on the other side. The fight was so intense that the two parties were nigh inseparable.
“They’ve all gone mad!!”
Meng Lei couldn’t be bothered with them. He had seen too many of such situations along the way and gotten used to it by now. The sight was no longer surprising to him anymore.
Roar!
A loud, clear, and sonorous dragon roar suddenly traveled over to them. Then, a dazzling, eye-catching golden light burst forth from within the forest as dragon might surged!
“A Golden Colossal Dragon!”
“Damn! That fellow’s a Golden Colossal Dragon! Could she be Prince Barbarossa!?”
“No! She isn’t! She’s clearly a woman! Prince Barbarossa is a man, and I’ve seen him before. He doesn’t look like that!”
“Then, who is she? Does His Majesty have other pure-blooded children?”
“Who she is isn’t important. What’s important is that she has a golden fruit on her, and we must snatch it from her! That’s our guarantee for promoting to Saint Domain!”
“But she’s royalty...”
“So what if she’s royalty? Everyone competes on equal grounds during the exchange competition. As long as we don’t threaten her life, His Majesty, the Emperor won’t say anything!”
‘You’re right!”
“That makes sense!”
“We must get the golden fruit! I saw with my own eyes that Saquila broke through to Saint Domain after she ate one!”
“Mine! The golden fruit is mine!”
“Attack, everyone!”
“Kill!”
Roar!
“Another Golden Colossal Dragon?”
Meng Lei stopped Sacas and remarked, “Did you see that, Ol’ President? It’s another pure-blooded Golden Colossal Dragon.”
“Every emperor typically only has one pure-blooded Colossal Dragon offspring. It’s exceedingly rare for them to have two. Why is there another one here?”
Ol’ Amos, who was looking at the Golden Colossal Dragon in the bushes, suddenly chuckled and replied, “Evidently, it’s not pure-blooded.”
“It’s not?” Taken aback, Meng Lei said, “Apart from being a little smaller, everything else about it is exactly the same as that Prince Barbarossa whom I beat into a bruised and battered state.”
“Its size is the best form of evidence. A Saint Domain Golden Colossal Dragon reaches 100 meters long, but that Golden Colossal Dragon isn’t even 50 meters long. Yet its aura rivals that of a Saint Domain Magical Beast.”
Ol’ Amos shook his head and said with a laugh, “That’s enough to show that it isn’t a pure-blooded Golden Colossal Dragon. Rather, it’s the dragon transformation of a Saint Domain Golden Colossal Dragon Person that has refined and increased the purity of its bloodline.”
“I see.” Realization dawned upon Meng Lei.
“But for it to develop its Golden Colossal Dragon bloodline to such a degree before it’s 30 years old, that little fellow is certainly very impressive,” Ol’ Amos marveled.
“Yeah!”
Meng Lei nodded slightly. Then, he remarked in puzzlement again, “But for some reason, I can’t help but feel that that Golden Colossal Dragon’s aura feels rather familiar.”
“Familiar?”
Taken aback, Ol’ Amos couldn’t help but take a close look at the Golden Colossal Dragon. Then, his eyes suddenly widened as he exclaimed, “What the heck! It’s her!”